To purpose in our worship to go and meet God is the desire to see Him face to face. I am reminded of Psalm 5:3 - "O Lord, in the morning You hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for You and 'watch' (for you and your presence)." And then, Psalm 42:2 - "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?"
In contrast, once again this week we, as a nation, have had to look evil in the face as many of our fellow Americans were killed and wounded in a senseless crime. As I thought about this, I began to remember that we are given a choice to look into the face of evil or the face of God. In Genesis, worship started out perfectly, and then there was the fall where satan and self sought to become the face of worship.
Psalm 42 talks about our longing for God, thirsting for God, desiring to see His face. But it also addresses the fact that men will suffer and will say - "Where is your God?". Then it addresses the fact that our hope is in God and that we must wait expectantly on Him. And we are promised that His loving-kindness and song shall be with us. In our praise, we wait and hope in Him. Many times we as believers want to seek God's hand before seeking His face. Our Sovereign God is in control. He sees what we cannot. Even in the face of evil, He truly is our mighty fortress and our God. As the old hymn says, "The body they may kill: God's truth abideth still, His Kingdom is forever." Wait on Him in worship and hope in Him, as you walk in Him. mjm
